How to measure success

So a business guru was at the small village in the south side of Africa he saw this farmer guy who had fine crops in his fair sized garden. A business guru complimented the farmer on his quality product ''nice crops'', farmer responds ''thank you sir''. A businessman asks ''how long did it take you to grow them?''  ''Not very long'' the farmer responded. 

The guru asked the farmer why he didn't grow more crops since he still had abundant space. The farmer responded by telling him he had enough to support his family. The guru asked him what he did with the rest of his time. The farmer responded "I sleep late, spend time with my family, go fishing with my buddies, take my wife out on dates, and sip some nice wine, I have a full busy life sir''

The guru man showing disapproval '' I'm an MBA from one of the best Universities in the world and I can help you. You should spend more time farming and with the profits then buy bigger land; eventually you will have plenty of farms. Instead of selling your crop to the middle man you'll sell directly to the processor and distribution. You will leave this small village and move to the City where you'll do business properly and expand your entity''.

The farmer then asks "but sir how long will all this take? the guru replies "15-20 years" ''but then what?'' the farmer asked. The guru giggles ''That’s the juicy part! When the time is right you would sell your company stock on public and become very rich. You would make millions''. ''Millions sir?'' he asks ''Millions'' he answered. ''Then what?'' the farmer asks. The guru responds ''Then you would retire. Move to a small village grow crops just enough for your family, sleep late, spend time with your family, go fishing with your friends, take your wife on dates, and sip some nice wine''.

The farmer, still smiling, looked up and said ''Isn't that what I'm doing right now? - Unknown Author 

How then do we measure success? Some measure success by how much they have in their bank accounts but some measure success by how much of their lives they live for the ones they love!

Small things accumulate to Big things

"If you are not willing to look like a fool, nothing great is ever going to happen to you" - Dr Gregory House.

 It is very often that when you think about being successful you think of the bigger picture, which at a great extent is good, but how often do you think about the starting point on your dream? The research done by scholars in south Africa states that the high rate of businesses failing after the first 6 years in business is due to lack of planning and business models that can't be sustained. What causes that? I'll tell you, most business owners jump in to the high horse before they can afford it. In most cases when a business model fails to be sustained it is because the business only had one source stream of income which is not realistic for a new business.

 Starting small is important to all businesses because it helps a business build a strong customer base, and they can be able to come up with a reliable business model which is suitable for the target market. When you think of the most successful people in South Africa. It's either they started selling peanuts in train stations or maybe they were assistants to taxi drivers. The well known Mr. Mamponya who is owner of the Maponya Mall also multi-millionaire and one of the most successful people in south africa started his business from his first job of selling meat at the rank, who would have thought he'd become this successful? The Blackanese sushi bar owner  Maboneng Precinct one of most popular a restaurants in Gauteng started as a car guard. No one believed in his dream but because he valued his small efforts, his vision didn't allow the circumstances he was suffering at that time to stop him from yeaning to achieve his dream. You do not zap your way to success it all starts by the small things.

 "Success and failure are not major events, they are small events which accumulate to big results" - Anthony Robbins. Most of us are caught focusing more on the result of situations without attempting to accomplish the smaller events in our lives. Truth is if you can't handle success at a small scale you can never do it on a bigger one, therefore it is more important for an individual to know these things. Yet again when you fail you start by small things as well, like not writing your goals down, not planning your business or whatever it is you want to succeed in. Be inspired and pump yourself with positive thoughts because it all starts small and it all starts as a dream until you achieve it!